Rain Smith

KINGSPORT — A road rage incident has resulted in one man being transported to the hospital by EMS after he was struck by a car when he exited his SUV on Fort Henry Drive.

According to reports at the Kingsport Police Department, the altercation occurred Monday shortly after 4 p.m.

Near the intersection of Fort Henry Drive and Memorial Boulevard, Benjamin Mitchell, 38, exited his Chevrolet Suburban. He was then struck by the left front of a Honda Civic Del Sol driven by James S. Alley, 46.

"The Chevrolet stopped and Mr. Mitchell stepped out of his vehicle into the traffic lane," reads a KPD press release on the incident. "Simultaneously, the Honda swerved to the left toward a turn lane and struck Mr. Mitchell."

KPD Public Information Officer Tom Patton says the road rage incident had spanned several blocks of Fort Henry Drive before Mitchell exited his Suburban. At no point in time did the vehicles make contact.

The two men did not know each other, with the incident spurred when one driver felt he had been cut off in traffic. Each man allegedly admitted to a confrontation, but gave the reporting officer "conflicting statements."

Multiple witnesses, according to a police report, categorized both men's vehicles as being involved in a road rage altercation.

Kingsport police detectives are investigating the incident with charges pending.